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Col de la Colombière

mountain pass in France

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 31, 2026
Entity authorityQ868223
Source-derived summary

Col de la Colombière (French pronunciation: [kɔl də la kɔlɔ̃bjɛʁ]) (elevation 1613 m) is a mountain pass in the Alps in the department of Haute-Savoie in France.

It connects Cluses in the Arve valley with Le Grand-Bornand in the Bourne valley. The road then leads further to Annecy or over Col des Aravis to the Arly valley and is situated between the Massif des Bornes to the north-west and the Chaîne des Aravis to the south-east.

The pass is not an important traffic route because there are better roads that parallel it, particularly the A40 autoroute.

Details of climb

Although the pass is not very high, it is technically difficult for cyclists.

Starting from Scionzier, the climb is 16.3 km long. Over this distance, the climb is 1108 m (an average percentage of 6.8%). The steepest section is 10.2% near the summit. From Le Grand-Bornand, the Col de la Colombière is 11.7 km long. Over this distance, the climb is 690 m (an average percentage of 5.9%).

Editorial summary

“Col de la Colombière” enters the record as mountain pass in France. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Colombière, mountain and pass can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA strong orientation record where physical form, institutional use and historical geography need to be read together. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1613, 1108—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Colombière, mountain and pass.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Col de la Colombière” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Colombière, mountain and pass provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q868223. Authority coordinates are 45.992, 6.476. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1613 and 1108.

Critical limits

Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Col de la Colombière”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Col de la Colombière primary sources, Col de la Colombière archive and Colombière research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Col de la Colombière”?
  2. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
  3. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Col de la Colombière” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.